Toddler Suddenly Stopped Napping

Yep I have three kids and they all dropped their naps before three. We still had "quiet" time, usually laying on MY bed together, reading stories, and if I was lucky they would fall asleep for a bit. Sometimes I did too.

Yep. It went that way for my kids. You could milk it a little longer if you go for "quiet time" where they can look at a book in bed or play with quiet toys. Mine bought into that for about 4 more months.

If it's just been recently could it be the holiday festivities? Not wanting to miss out or just the change in routine?
Mine didn't go from long naps to short naps. They just dropped naps altogether but would kind of nod off before supper sometimes or if we were in the car. We did what the moms below suggest too - we did quiet time. I still needed that downtime!

I feel your pain. Mine was a 3-hour napper well past the age of 3, and we both hated it when that stopped!

It's good that you've noted she's not sick, but she could be going through a growth spurt that throws things off a bit. Maybe she's done with naps, maybe it's a phase. Time will tell.

I think you can't fight it in the sense of requiring her to sleep. But I think you can "compromise" and maybe get some naps out of it. Quiet time, as suggested below, is one way. But it's tough when the child doesn't have a sense of time passing. One of my stepdaughters got those fold-out foam easy chairs for her kids - they look like toddler-sized chairs, but the bottom cushion unfolds to make a sort of a bed. You can call it a reading chair or a quiet chair, whatever you want. Unfold it, let her cuddle up with a blanket, maybe a pillow, and a book - it's likely she will fall asleep, but don't tell her that's your goal. (My stepdaughter also used them in the family room on rainy afternoons and when the kids were a little sick or under the weather, just to encourage napping even if not specifically asking for it. She'd put the TV on and have them snuggle up in their special chairs with an afghan, and half the time they'd nod off within a half hour.)

Do make a "no talking" and "no getting up" and "no calling out" rule. If you want to put a timer on her lights or get one of those toddler clocks that lights up with some sort of signal, such as a green light for "go" and a red light for "stop". A lot of parents get them for early-morning risers too - they serve as "you can't wake up Mom and Dad before this time" clocks. Maybe a combination of those 2 things will work. The advantage to "quiet time" is that you can use it well past the napping age - it's great for 6 and 8 year olds when you (and they) just need a break.

Good luck!

Mine did the same thing at exactly 3 yrs old. It was as though a switch was flipped. He still seemed to need it because he was tired but could not sleep. I tried for a bit but then just changed to an earlier bedtime.

well, everyone stops napping at some point, don't we? more's the pity.
you can't force sleep. it could be the holiday excitement, could be she's coming down with something, could be she's just done.
whatever the case, i'd lay down the law about calling for you, and laying her down over and over. the new rule is it's nap time OR quiet time, whichever she likes, but she needs to stay quiet in there until YOU come get her. you may need to shorten the time. if she's really not sleeping, 2-3 hours is too long for her to wait. but quiet time can certainly go for at least an hour.
i allowed quiet play with stuffed animal friends in bed.
the transition from napping to a little downtime in the afternoon will serve you both well.
khairete
S.

It might be something temporary. Continue to put her down for nap time and see what happens.

She's not going to nap forever. Sounds like she's over naps.

Yep they can change on a snap. She might start napping again but I think her 2.5 hour nap has come to an end.

Keep the nap as long as possible. She needs them. I know a lot of people say kids don't need them at this age but she does. She'll still have to lay down in Pre-K and Kindergarten for naps. I think kids need to keep them when possible. Just put her down, make sure the curtains are drawn to make it dark, play some quiet music and make sure to stay there. I have swatted the kids when they got up. I am the boss and "I" say it's nap time. I know how my evening will go if they don't sleep or at least have absolute down time for a while during the early afternoon.

Both of mine were poor nappers. And never (ok, rarely, only if they were ill/sick) slept over 90 minutes on so. I was able to get our eldest to take naps with his younger sibling up to around age 4. The younger child gave them up (except for accidentally falling asleep and catnapping in the car for 20 min or so from time to time) before her 3rd birthday. We were always on the go with her older brother by then, and she might doze off if we happened to be in the car at the right time, but never went back to sleep once the car stopped.

You might institute "quiet time" as a replacement for naps. Or move bed time back a half hour and see how that goes.

Get one of the alarm clocks that have a sun and a moon on them - use it for nap time. Tell her that if she is too big for naps than she has to have quiet time - give her stuffed animals and books to "read" in her crib. She is not allowed to call for you unless it is an emergency (she is bleeding or on fire) until quiet time is over. The moon will change to sun at that time.

I still do quiet time with my 5 year old when he is off school - he needs the downtime and so do I!

Sounds exactly what both of my kids did - right about that age.

Keep trying but sounds like the end is near, sucks

Sorry. I can't relate.
Our son napped regularly till he was 7 yrs old.
It was rough in 1st grade when they didn't nap at school anymore but he napped on weekends.
He's 17 now and will still occasionally take a nap when he gets home from school.
A lot of the time he was afraid he'd be missing out on something.
We all laid down with him and more often than not we'd ALL end up napping for awhile.

is she sleeping longer during the night? my DS spoiled me rotten by napping until well into his third year. he's always been a champion sleeper...now getting him fed is another question altogether...but I digress.

I completely agree with the downtime idea mentioned below. my MIL always said I may not be sleeping but I still need to rest. give that a shot and pat yourself on the back for a continued job well done. it sounds like they're both thriving. the constant evolution can be a challenge for us moms but it's also gratifying. :-) S.

Looks like she is starting to drop her nap-it's a 6 month process usually.

it's common for them to go through this but do not give in, she is not ready to be done with naps, she's just testing the waters, do not let her win this battle, she will go back to napping solidly again in a week or so

I'm pretty sure my son stopped napping at the same age, he did go to daycare and just had to have quiet time during naps. I always tell him when you're older you are going to wish you could take naps every day!

Is she over tired? Since I'm sure she may have been off her routine due to holidays, etc., it's possible she's just over tired and therefore not sleeping well. Sleep begets sleep! She may just need to readjust...or she may be giving up her nap. For your sake I hope it's the former! :) My son stopped napping about that age though, and my daughter napped until about age 5, each kid is different. Keep putting her down and if this routine keeps up for more than a week, I think she's probably ending nap time. I did have my kids do "rest" time for a while. They didn't rest in there, but it helped me to cope and transition!

Her naps COULD be over. My girls tended to get rid of their naps at this age while my boy didn't for another
year and a half. I feel like it was due to more activity on my son's part (he was alway son the go, never
sat down quietly, always moving/squirming/running while my girls would sit and play dolls or w/their tea set.
I'd say let it go for now, watch to see how tired she gets and possibly adjust her bedtime up by a half an
hour if necessary (if she's overly tired & cranky). Sometimes I'd take my eldest for a walk in the jog stroller
to see if she'd fall asleep. Sometimes running an errand in the car and......bom she'd fall alseep for 20 mins.
A less cranky baby by afternoon. But most likely.......she's done with naps.